“…in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance…” 2 Timothy 2:25
Dear Ones:
About seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, Isaiah was led to write about, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'” (Is. 40:3) From the testimony of several of the gospel writers, and the Lord Jesus, we learn that this man was John the Baptist. His message to the people was: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 3:2) We know, from the study of words in the Bible, that the word “repent” means: “…that inward change of mind, affections, convictions and commitment.” This definition is a good one, but the application of it goes far beyond the definition, for John introduces this element: “…for the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is at hand.” In declaring this, he brings a contrast of truth before the people, the truth of their lives lived according to their own ways as compared with the ways of heaven, and of God. He puts before the people a choice, that of either choosing the “way of the Lord,” and embracing “His paths” as the rule of life, or choosing the way of sinful man. There is another important qualifying characteristic of John’s preaching on repentance, and it has to do with the One who was coming after him. He very clearly draws the distinction between himself and this person, with regard to worthiness, by saying: “He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.” (Matt. 3:11) Perhaps the most striking truth of this One who is to come, who is the King of the kingdom of heaven, is this: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (v.11) Here John not only speaks of the ways and paths of God, but of the coming of the King himself, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the very author of salvation, our Maker. The call to change one’s mind, and the entirety of the direction of one’s life, is found in these two aspects of truth, the knowledge of the truth of God’s ways as opposed to those of men, and the revelation of Christ, “God with us,” and the response to His authority and Kingship.
We must ask at this point this question: Where does true repentance come from? Is it “man-made,” and is its origin in man? The answer is “no.” Paul writes to Timothy that repentance is given by God. In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he writes: “…the goodness of God leads you to repentance.” (2:4) So, how does God work in us, lead us to, and give us true repentance? John, the Apostle, wrote in his gospel: “And when He (the Holy Spirit) is come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement.” (16:8) When the “word of God,” the truths of the Gospel, are preached in the power and demonstration of the Spirit, the Spirit of God convinces and convicts the sinner of sin, or his lost condition, and his absolute incapacity to save or deliver himself. True repentance is expressed by THE CRY OF THE HEART TO GOD for His intervention in the life, so that one can submit their wills and minds to Christ the Lord, to serve the King of the kingdom. Divine repentance is that act and attitude, given by the grace of God, whereby one turns from himself, and the ways and means of men, in order to turn wholly to Christ, surrendering the life to Him forever.
Dear Father, we thank You that the Lord Jesus is the author, not only of faith, but of repentance. Grant us to know, not only the meaning of this attitude of mind and heart, but the experience of it in the life. We thank and praise You, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Love, Dad